Ten Alternative Spaces for Live Music in South Florida

With all the fuss that's circulated over Churchill's Pub switching of hands, coupled with the closing of the Broward County staple the Talent Farm, we at County Grind got to thinking about location. More specifically, venues. After watching what seems like the whole music scene have an emotional collapse at the thought of one integral venue changing in any way shape or form, we got to wondering whether or not we, in the tri-county area, are putting all our eggs in one basket. That can be a seriously dangerous thing for a music scene.

So, we asked ourselves: Where else could we throw wild punk shows or freaky noise nights around these parts? What follows are ten places -- a few more practical than others -- that we think would make the coolest alternative venues in South Florida.

This Fort Lauderdale spot is already up and running, kicking off some bound-to-be-crazy shows with none other than the likes of Rat Bastard, Jellyfish Brothers, Xela Zaid, and others on June 7.

What makes this place stand out is that it's not your run-of-the-mill bar or whatever else we're used to, but rather, it's an art and music space, supporting expression on all sorts of different verticals. With local art scattered on the walls, this place oozes with support for the scene and is perfect for all our oddball noise musicians.

You know when you're walking from your car, you pass that dry cleaners to get to the front door of Radio-Active Records? Have you ever thought to yourself, "Hey! This weird drive-through roof thing would kind of make a cool shady area for a band to play under!"? No? Maybe it's just us then.

But give it a chance: Imagine walking to the front door, but oh no, wait, there's a loud-ass show happening right outside! Radio-Active has had its fair share of cool shows in their quarters, but how great would it be if they opened it up, gave bands and crowds some room to breathe and jam outside, all with the strange Fort Lauderdale world passing them by? We think it'd be pretty crazy.